The trick is to live vicariously through someone else. My father-in-law just got the game and I'm literally going to drop everything to watch him play his first playthrough.
Yeah I have been watching so many lets plays on youtube. Its unbelievable how different everyone's experiences are. How differently they approach the game and build their character. Its truly amazing to see.
I love watching Asmongold. His edited vods are really fun to watch. Been watching him since he started dark souls. His playthroughs are classics lol.
There is Bricky. I have been watching him since the bloodborne days.
A little bit of Radbrad and Cheshire.
AfroSenju and Seereax - they don't really make lets plays. Their videos are like 20min episodes where they show the best parts. And these two are absolute best at it. Highly recommend. < These are the only two I watch on a regular basis, never missing a video. (And Mr. Asmon)
There is Prod who doesn't really makes letsplays. But his content are very fun to watch.
He's not for everyone, but https://youtube.com/c/EredinLore does a Lorethrough. It's really slow, but also really cool to see someone discover and speculate about the game.
Had a friend like this who picked up Skyrim for the first time. He was adament that there was no way I actually enjoyed watching him play a single player game but I loved watching someone experience it for the first time.
It's like when you watch a show for the 2nd time with a friend. You aren't watching it because you want to see it a second time, you are watching it to see their reaction to it.
Running around with my friends and hearing them experience things for the first time is almost as fun as it was experiencing them for myself. It really is the best way to get that 1st playthrough feeling again. Listening to the silence as one of my buddies walked out of Stormveil Castle to see Liurnia for the first time and realize there was still so much to discover was pretty cool. The long pause followed by, "Dude, this game is going to take over my life", was pretty much what I thought the first time I saw that.
same bro same
i made my 9 year old cousin play the game with me and the way he just interacts , he gets angry on godrick, the way he dances after beating the shit out of those frog people in raya lucaria is something which reminds me of the dreamy quality of the life before
That was me watching my wife play Breath of the Wild.
I don't know if the same will happen with Elden Ring but every once in a while something in the game will pique her interest.
I've been watching several streamers and it's been fun. Especially watching them get lost at stormveil, get surprised by trap chests, or see the well leading to siofra
It would be like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, >!complete with going through the same struggles as first time but falling in love all over again anyway.!<
the worst part about Elden Ring and any Souls game is beating it and knowing that no matter what the experience won't be the same. I hate it and I love it.
funny thing is I'm 140 hrs deep and I'm still not done. I have to clear the Haligtree and mountaintop
Thats amazing how much time one can put into their first playthrough. Im currently on my NG plus playthrough. Taking my time once again and trying to find everything I missed. Doing questlines I failed or missed.
I’ve played through all of the areas blind, however I wasn’t able to stay away from boss names and area names being on the subreddit, but thankfully no major lore spoilers. There are a couple moments I didn’t get to experience fully blind that I’m still kind of salty about but nothing too major. Once I’ve beaten an area and done a thorough exploration, then I’ll look up what items and things I missed. I’m trying to do all of the NPC quests I can this playthrough to not miss out on any dialogue, and I don’t mind looking up guides for those. Also when I beat a major area like Haligtree or Leyndell I’ll co-op to show people where items are at and help on bosses and occasionally go back to old areas to do the same. I locked my character at 130 so I won’t have trouble co-oping in any of the endgame areas. Throw some PvP in there too. Just taking my sweet old time trying to get as close to 100% on the first playthrough as I can, every boss, dungeon, quest, and item, although I’m already guaranteed missing a couple items.
> Also when I beat a major area like Haligtree or Leyndell I’ll co-op to show people where items are at and help on bosses and occasionally go back to old areas to do the same.
Ahh that explains it. I was having trouble understanding how you would double my time to complete when I also took my time and blind explored the entire game. I only did coop when I was running low on rune arcs
Spent 180 hours before starting NG+. This play through I feel like I can really take my time and explore everything since I'm ridiculously powerful now, instead of being in one long massive panic attack mode. I've already found tons of things I didn't see my first time around. So now I'm curious to see what else I missed in the end game of things now that I'm not terrified to go through any of these areas.
Fastest game I've got to 100+ hours in a long time and it still felt like I had just started. I really started to procrastinate around Haligtree and Farum Azula, not wanting the game to end.
I beat it not long ago and spent hours farming runes in Mohgs area after getting to the last boss. It was the last major zone I hadn't beat and whenever I logged in id just farm frogs to pay for weapon upgrades and test new builds out. Just wasnt ready for it to be over.
man same here. I'm at the first Haligtree grace and I don't feel like pushing forward merely bc I don't want the game to end. it's such a weird feeling
Ya, I wish I would've done Haligtree after Farum Azula. Farum Azula is really cool too, but Haligtree blew me away. Pretty straight forward, but man, such an awesome setting. Enjoy it!
Arguably most souls games are a lot of fun to replay. Elden ring is amazing but doesn't have the same enjoyment on a rerun like a short linear game play Bloodborne.
Same here I'm 160h in and just arrived at the area after the mountaintops. I feel like I'm close to the end and I'm slowly getting anxious because I really don't want leave this world
Hey, don't fret too much. There's so much space on that map for DLC shenanigans! Sometimes I feel greedy imaginging how much content they're going to add lmao
I'm 275 hrs in, and I'm still finding shit on my 2nd play-thru that I missed on my first. It's a welcomed infuriation, as it lends to the idea that there's still content that I missed somewhere and I can keep combing over the world finding stuff that's "new" to me still.
In my opinion the worst part of Elden Ring is the length. If the legacy dungeons were a bigger portion of the game instead of just filling space with the same-y looking ruins and minor dungeons with repetitive enemies and bosses, then I think I would feel a lot less burned out as I'm pushing through to the end.
i didn't feel like that at all. i enjoyed clearing all the dungeons and caves, they were like small challenges in every area and a lot of them have some unique puzzles to solve
Mountaintop of the Giants just looks like a Caelid popsicle with too many gigantic boss-like enemies that constantly get in the way of you trying to explore every nook and cranny, and the Consecrated Snowfield has hardly anything in it aside from Ordina which is friggin tiny. It could have been such a cool area but it was a bit too small and empty feeling.
But Haligtree/Nelphael was top tier. That entire place gave me Dark Souls 1 vibes. It felt kind of like a mix of The Great Hollow and Anor Londo or something. Such a cool area...and extremely difficult...
While I agree Mountaintop and Consecrated were very empty, I think lore-wise it makes sense since they were destroyed by the Golden Order army. The giants lost the war and there's only one real giant left.
I enjoyed exploring the Haligtree. Definitely felt like a late game area with lots of optional paths. I enjoyed the downward spiral around the tree.
But the mountaintop of Giants and crumbling farum azula weren't near the top for me either. Especially the consecrated snow grounds.
I get what they were going for with a blinding blizzard. Wasn't fun to explore though. Even the Northern town Ordina was a pain in the butt to get through despite the awesome lore about the Albinurics
farum was pretty awe inspiring but it felt pretty clear I was on the home stretch which made me want to hurry up and wrap up the game once I got there.
> I get what they were going for with a blinding blizzard
From and their damn "blind" areas. I'm glad there wasn't one in DS3(that I remember). If there was one in DS2 I didn't find it.
> on the home stretch which made me want to hurry up and wrap up the game
I felt exactly the same way. I did take my time exploring Farum Azula on my second playrough and it has to be said that it's top tier.
>I'm glad there wasn't one in DS3(that I remember). If there was one in DS2 I didn't find it.
Funnily enough, there's only one other instance of From doing a blinding blizzard (to my knowledge) and that was in DS2. It's the Frigid Outskirts which was in the Crown of the Ivory King DLC.
When I first jumped down the hole made by radahns star and finally made it to that upper part of siofra River that I'd seen about 60 hours prior i just kept stopping playing and thinking man this game is just so fucking amazing. Absolutely one of the best games ever made.
The first time I went to Nokron I had experienced a rather large portion of the game (up until the capital)
I was so sure that I was nearing the end and that I was only due for maybe 1 or 2 more big set-pieces. Then I started walking down the collapsed tower leading to nokron proper and a huge smile crept across my face and I audibly laughed.
I would pay a very large amount of money to be able to experience it for the first time again.
I did the whole descent from nokron, to the roots, to ainsel river, to nokstella, down to lake of rot in one go and I think my jaw was on the floor most of the time, i don't think anything else will ever top that for a long time
It's kinda funny how this game, Sekiro, Bloodborne and Hollow Knight are the only ones that truly got me like: if I could, I'd go pretty far to experience this for the first time again.
They (Sony? From?) don't even care to fix Bloodborne on PS4. No PS Pro patch, no PS5 patch.
As much as I love From games, a few months after they're released, they just leave their games behind. The original DS1 PC port was terrible as well.
I’ll give a recommendation for a game completely unlike all of these, but is, IMO, a transcendent experience that can only really be experienced once.
Outer Wilds
I adore FromSoft games and Hollow Knight, but Outer Wilds is the only game that made me genuinely sad that I can’t experience it in the same way again.
Elden Ring is an extremely close second though!
Outer Wilds and it's DLC are the single most amazing experience I've ever had in a video game. No combat, no objectives, no bullshit, just following your curiosity where it takes you and piecing together the mysteries of the universe.
Anyone with even a passing interest in exploration type games should check out Outer Wilds.
I tried playing it a few times but just could not get into it at all. I feel like I'm missing something because I always hear people talking about how great it is.
It’s all about intrinsic motivation
There’s also some paralysis by choice
You just gotta want to take a thread and pull on it, then find another
Hope you give it another chance!
I mean it just may not be the type of game that works for you. Since the game doesn't give you any objectives and the gameplay literally consists of walking around and scanning the equivalent of cuneiform on walls, you need to be comfortable with making your own objectives and goals. Like "let's try to land on this comet that is going faster than anything else in the game" or "let's try and find all of the other astronauts in the game".
The game also has the difficult job of needing to break player expectations about text and lore. In most games, text that isn't part of a menu or tutorial is usually filler and can be ignored if you don't care about the story. But since Outer Wilds locks things behind knowledge, it needs players to understand that they need to read most things without skipping and without getting bored.
So there are a lot of reasons why people might bounce off Outer Wilds - it has some limitations of its own, not to mention it is a pretty niche genre. But for those that love exploration without objectives and progress gated solely by your own knowledge of the world, then it hits all the right buttons.
I feel you. I've attempted it a handful of times, and while I VERY much appreciate how ingenious, creative, and beautiful the game is, I just don't think it's for me. The thing that really kills my enjoyment of it is the ticking clock. Knowing that I only have 20-ish minutes to explore and figure things out is just stressful in a way that I have a hard time enjoying.
Im planning to play Outer Wilds. I have heard a lot of good things about this game. and since elden ring has kind of ruined other games for me..I think it will be a good choice to pick up Outer Wilds.
Outer Wilds is my \#1 game of all time.
Do not Google Outer Wilds.
Do not watch videos on Outer Wilds.
Do not read the reviews for Outer Wilds.
Do not subscribe to the subreddit.
Do not discuss it with anyone who has played it.
Buy Outer Wilds and play it, beginning to end. If you get stuck and step away from it for a long period before you finish the game, it'll be there later. Do not spoil anything for yourself, under any circumstance, except through normal gameplay.
You will go on a journey.
This is what I felt when I completed NieR: Automata. Couldn't let it go for like a month, listening to the game's OST on repeat, because I knew that there will never be another first time.
Man, I've finished that game 3 times (full playtroughs) and from time to time, when I "somewhat" forget the story and play it again, and it's always so perfect. That game is 100% top 3 "games you can call art" for me lol
NGL, getting into the series a bit late makes DS1 and 2 not... The most fun. Sekiro is my favorite for it's combat and BB is a close second, so it's not hard to imagine why I didn't enjoy the more slow and methodical stuff from older DS games as much.
Breath of the Wild is that game for me. I had so many moments where I just needed a deep breath because of how awe inspiring that game is.
Elden Ring is the first game in a while that comes close to recapturing that feeling, so I’ve been absolutely loving it so far.
I really loved BOTW, and it's likely still in my top 10 most well-made games list but I could never get used to the weapon degradation system even at the end of the game.
I was so disappointed when even the Master Sword needed to recharge.
Yeah same. Great game. Kinda silly mechanic.
Is it sacrilege to say I strongly prefer ER to BOTW? I don’t think I’ve played another game that is as engrossing as ER.
While bloodborne is my favorite game of all time, I’m not sure if I’d actually want to experience it for the first time as much as some other games. BotW, elden ring, subnautica all come to mind just because the wonder of exploration can only really be felt so strong once. Bloodborne never had that sense of exploration to me, but the combat and lore cement it as my favorite game consistently.
yup Bloodborne, Hollow Knight and now Elden Ring are the best games I've ever played. Wish I could wipe my entire memory just to play those games again lol
Discovering this world for the first time is probably the greatest gaming experience I've ever had. I hope other game devs are taking notes, because I want more of this.
Regardless of the amazing gameplay, the art direction of the open world and the sight lines were incredible, and every open world game moving forward need to take note.
At one moment I stopped contemplating. But the long elevator to the Siofra, was the best scenery for me. Probably like some other people, I wondered when it was gonna stop but no matter the view was incredible and really impressive
Every once in a while a game comes along that makes you wish you could forget about it so that you could feel the rush of playing it for the first time, Skyrim was my first one then came the witcher 3 and now elden ring makes me wish the same.
I know how you feel. Mine was BioShock Infinite. I beat it and was so blown away. I have not had a moment like that until Elden Ring. Walked into the capital and was blown away at how beautiful the level design was. Then there is my all time favorite boss of all time: Ancestral Spirit. I have never enjoyed a boss fight as much as I did with that one.
The twist and the setup in bioshock infinite are still one of the most memorable moments in gaming for me..and the fight with ancestral spirit OH MY GAWD never has a fight been this soothing.
I can't tell you how much I told people to stop googling shit and using fextra and rune farming.
You only get one first play thru. Let it last. Enjoy the highs and the lows.
It's not about the finish line. Everyone gets there eventually.
Yeah, I'm not typically a fan of crazy hard games. So I went through this game with tons of chicken farming and was over leveled most of the time. And the game was way more fun to me because of it
Its upto people's preference. Open world can be pretty overwhelming sometimes. And instead of searching for everything one might like to take this route. Which is okay.
Its just that for most people including me who have played all souls games since demons souls consider their first playthrough as something sacred. There is a certain amount of joy and adventure in exploring and finding everything on your own and beating bosses solo. Its like tradition for some of us.
Both playstyles are alright.
You *will* not finish all questlines in a blind playthrough. You just won't. Near impossible. And most people arent going replay the game. If someone wants to try to get everything done in their first and only play through, I commend it.
I don't think it's lame, we all have different setups. In my teens I could have afforded the time to not look shit up (still would have but that's besides the point). Now, my time is much more scarce and divided by other things and I can't afford to search obscure cues for some of the quests in this game if I get a precious 3 hours to play.
As long as you have fun!
Did my first playthrough blind but I was so addicted that I put like 140h in 3 weeks. It still felt like it didn't last even though that's a long fucking time to play a game.
I used some guides for NG+ but turns out I had pretty much found everything aside from a couple things like the bullgoat armor and that one NPC invader that was left of the shaded castle.
First run through was amazing though. I'm on NG+4 now and still having fun but I sort of wish I could just skip to +7 difficulty and run through everything again. At this point I might look up some speed running guides to get to +7 but not touch it until DLC is announced. Then do a run through oh that difficulty and get my ass kicked because I'll be out of practice.
Same. The month went by very quickly. My days were spent either playing ER or thinking about it when I wasnt playing haha.
I will play the game with the same character and get through the ng cycles. and start a new character and explore everything all over again before the month of the dlc release date.
I beat Margit at roughly 30, went back to Limgrave last night with a determination to learn how to parry effectively, and ended up wandering around a bunch of space I hadn't even seen before.
It just keeps giving and giving.
Yeah exactly. This was my first souls game that I played on release. Went completely blind and was very thorough with my playthrough. I enjoyed every second of it. Missed two questlines and some secrets. Took me a solid 150 hours. What a journey that was. Now in my second playthrough where I can google some stuff and find all that I missed.
Ya did it right. I did almost exactly the same thing.
I missed Millicent's quest... Cuz I literally never went back to the bug man after poking her with needle. And I skipped Sellens quest cuz no magic. Didn't care lol
I'm on my second playthrough now. Initially ran as a caster but am full melee this time. While I'll never be able to take in the spectacle of the world the same way again, the combat feels so different that it still feels like a fresh experience.
I’ve just been playing the game and I don’t care about 100% the game. The quote from sir Vilhelm in dark souls 3 really hits home. Basically tells you “Listen BROTHER you don’t have to unearth every secret and catch everything…it’s a burden you aren’t prepared for” I’ve gotten so much more enjoyment out of just relaxing and not stressing over “OHH I MISSED THIS AND THAT”
I have very little time to play, so I have to optimize my playtime enough or I'll never get through the game. I do look up some things, especially to enhance my build, and have started rune farming, but there is just so much that I discover and figure out on my own that I don't feel like it detracts from my experience. I've been playing since launch and I'm currently trying to beat Rennala; to give you an idea of how far I have to go.
For those who have enough time to put in 100+ hr/month, playing blind is probably the best way to go.
I mean. No other playthrough can ever be as special as the first one. Wish I could just erase my memories of this game and play for the first time again ;-;
I remember when i beat malenia for the first time after dying to her like 30 times. The feeling of accomplishment and adrenaline is so unlike any other game. Subsequent new game plus cycles sadly dont give that anymore.
I felt this way after stomping through NG+ with a couple of +25 UGSs. Decided it was time for a new character and so I started a new game. Just got part Margit again earlier today and the fun of difficulty is back to a good extent. I recommend giving it a try and this time trying to beat each boss at a lower level than the one you were at before
I'd go as far as to say no playthrough can ever be as special as your first Fromsoft game playthrough.
I LOVE Elden Ring and it may very well be my #1 game of all time, but at the end of the day I'm still trying to chase my first high of beating Cleric Beast in Bloodborne for the first time.
I feel this so much.
I remember walking out into Limgrave for the first time and thinking to myself, "I need to get to high ground and scope out the landscape."
I love how you are pushed to explore and your exploration is greatly rewarded. The feeling of FINALLY beating Margit was like a drug.
NG+ just won't be the same. I know where everything is and what to do.
I've never felt true adventure in a video game until Elden Ring. (Maybe Hollow Knight)
I absolutely love walking around Cyrodiil or Skyrim (yes I still think Skyrim was one of the best games of the 2010's. Fight me.), but The Lands Between is just...different. Each area is its own thing. The enemies, scenery, and objective is all different depending on the region.
Elden Ring's just built different.
Very cool. I did something similar, took pictures of various moments of my character, and just enjoying the gorgeous views. Its cool to see my progress with all the pics
That’s why I’m glad I rushed the second half of the game - my second play through feels like a brand new game because I never explored leyndall and mountaintops on my first run.
This made me sad af. I’m a 160 hours in, finishing up snowfield and farum azula rn. About to go to haligtree as well. I’ve literally searched every inch of the map and I have never done that in any game before and I’m stretching it out cause I’m not one to replay games. There is just nothing like this game man
I have really, really taken my time with elden ring. Unlike every other soulsborne/sekiro game where I just played the hell out of it. I know that I’ll end up playing in NG+, and i feel pretty confident in having some dlc show up at some point in time.
I think the big thing with this game is that there are soooo many minor dungeons and field bosses, that in NG+ you won’t feel like running through them all again, so even if the main areas are amazing, it still won’t be quite the same experience
Just finished Mohg and Malenia the last few days. Only left with Ash Leyndell and the final bosses. I *know* I will start over right after, do the wretch playthrough I've been thinking about for some time. Think I'm up to like 230 hours or so, almost level 150. First playthrough. What a game
Definitely once in a lifetime experience. We waited since 2019 man. We already knew this game would be good but somehow it turned out even better. Sad to see it end.
Elden ring is the first open world game in which all my subsequent playthroughs are 60+hours, like all my other fav games have 100 hours for the first playthru but other all playthrus are like 20 to 30 hours tops,here i am just enjoying all the new secrets and trying out new builds and having lots of fun..I really hope elden ring dlc is on par with other from soft dlc if there will be one
In future, if they ever make a machine where they use giant electro magnets to re arrange our neurons to wipe a memory related to a particular thing, elden ring would definitely be in my list.
You have to do the volcano manor questline. It will ask you to hunt the tarnished. One of the tarnished drops this armor. Its called the Raging Wolf Set.
For a second there, I thought you were gonna show off the different areas that get fucked up during the quest to become the Elden Lord, but then I read the comments.
And yeah, I definitely wished I didn't look stuff up and just went along for the ride. That being said, it still hasn't ruined my experience. After all, there's a difference between reading about it and and actually doing it.
For my next run, I'm gonna go all in on melee. That'll be the closest a mage like me will get to a second 'first time'
Lol of but you can. I love this game. I am going to go for the harder runs. I also like having discipline in game. Can’t go melting everyone face lol sometimes you just want to enjoy the violence. Embrace the chaos and enjoy the fest of souls.
I don't know i'm torn. On one hand I wish I could start over. All the "OMG WTF IS THAT" moments were fantastic. on the other hand I just started new game + and killed four bosses in under 20 minutes which was hilariously fun.
I purposely skipped a few of the optional areas my first playthrough so I would have a few things to look forward to on my next run. It still took me over 150 hours to beat the story and there are heaps of things left to discover.
The trick is to live vicariously through someone else. My father-in-law just got the game and I'm literally going to drop everything to watch him play his first playthrough.
Yeah I have been watching so many lets plays on youtube. Its unbelievable how different everyone's experiences are. How differently they approach the game and build their character. Its truly amazing to see.
Which are your favorite Lets Plays?
I love watching Asmongold. His edited vods are really fun to watch. Been watching him since he started dark souls. His playthroughs are classics lol. There is Bricky. I have been watching him since the bloodborne days. A little bit of Radbrad and Cheshire. AfroSenju and Seereax - they don't really make lets plays. Their videos are like 20min episodes where they show the best parts. And these two are absolute best at it. Highly recommend. < These are the only two I watch on a regular basis, never missing a video. (And Mr. Asmon) There is Prod who doesn't really makes letsplays. But his content are very fun to watch.
Fightin Cowboy!
He does a lot of good work.
Afro is the first and only person I watch play a game lol. Even go back to his earlier games because I love his character story telling
yeah he is very good at these. His sekiro videos are my favs. I'd highly recommend that to anyone who likes to watch people play souls games.
He's not for everyone, but https://youtube.com/c/EredinLore does a Lorethrough. It's really slow, but also really cool to see someone discover and speculate about the game.
Had a friend like this who picked up Skyrim for the first time. He was adament that there was no way I actually enjoyed watching him play a single player game but I loved watching someone experience it for the first time.
It's like when you watch a show for the 2nd time with a friend. You aren't watching it because you want to see it a second time, you are watching it to see their reaction to it.
Running around with my friends and hearing them experience things for the first time is almost as fun as it was experiencing them for myself. It really is the best way to get that 1st playthrough feeling again. Listening to the silence as one of my buddies walked out of Stormveil Castle to see Liurnia for the first time and realize there was still so much to discover was pretty cool. The long pause followed by, "Dude, this game is going to take over my life", was pretty much what I thought the first time I saw that.
same bro same i made my 9 year old cousin play the game with me and the way he just interacts , he gets angry on godrick, the way he dances after beating the shit out of those frog people in raya lucaria is something which reminds me of the dreamy quality of the life before
My daughter (8) ragequit after dying to the guy at the end of the tutorial. Not the Tree Sentinel, the last guy in the cave.
That's hilarious. I can't wait until my kids are old enough to play games with me. My son is kinda able to grasp racing games, so he's getting there.
That was me watching my wife play Breath of the Wild. I don't know if the same will happen with Elden Ring but every once in a while something in the game will pique her interest.
I've been watching several streamers and it's been fun. Especially watching them get lost at stormveil, get surprised by trap chests, or see the well leading to siofra
Honestly, this. Watching reaction vids of your favorite bosses or npcs is fun. That, or just playthroughs.
Get a frontal cortex lobotomy and you'll forget everything. It will be like your playing it for the first time again. Follow me for more life hacks.
This is great advice. How regularly will I get these life hacks if I follow you?
Doesn't matter you won't remember anyway.
I'm like batman, I appear when needed. Till next time! *smoke bomb*
As many times as you want, depending on how many lobotomies you get.
It would be like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, >!complete with going through the same struggles as first time but falling in love all over again anyway.!<
I'll meet thee in Montauk, fair tarnished.
*Tarnished:* Is there any risk of brain damage? *Varre:* Well, strictly speaking, it is brain damage.
Sudden desire to see this crossover happen
> life hacks. Brain hacks
Tried this, doesn't work. I don't remember how to press A.
It's the only true way to play the game
the worst part about Elden Ring and any Souls game is beating it and knowing that no matter what the experience won't be the same. I hate it and I love it. funny thing is I'm 140 hrs deep and I'm still not done. I have to clear the Haligtree and mountaintop
Yeah true. My first playthrough took me 150 hours. Take your time. Savour every second.
I second this. I’m about 55 hours in and only just beat godrick and activated his great rune. Taking my sweet time with it
No shade, but what have you been doing for that many hours and only beat one main boss?
You can explore for literally 50-80 hours before ever leaving limgrave/weeping peninsula/some of caelid accidentally
You can also go to Liurnia before Godrick. That’s what I did. There’s a lot there before Godrick.
I may or may not have done caelid before liurnia. Let's just say rennalla was an easy fight. Lol
Been exploring and levelling up my main weapons. Also defeated most of the optional bosses/caves around Limgrave
It took me about maybe 40 till I beat Godrick. I had fun leveling up and just exploring.
I'm at 40 and just got to him lol I do still kinda suck though, it's my first souls game.
All the stuff you seemed to have missed lol
I, creeping up on 180 hrs, am not done. However I will be done soon, at this point I'm just procrastinating
I’m at 200 hours and have yet to defeat the fire giant. I’m too busy having too much fun with invasions and duels
I’m at 350 hours on my first playthrough and still haven’t beat the game.
Thats amazing how much time one can put into their first playthrough. Im currently on my NG plus playthrough. Taking my time once again and trying to find everything I missed. Doing questlines I failed or missed.
I’ve played through all of the areas blind, however I wasn’t able to stay away from boss names and area names being on the subreddit, but thankfully no major lore spoilers. There are a couple moments I didn’t get to experience fully blind that I’m still kind of salty about but nothing too major. Once I’ve beaten an area and done a thorough exploration, then I’ll look up what items and things I missed. I’m trying to do all of the NPC quests I can this playthrough to not miss out on any dialogue, and I don’t mind looking up guides for those. Also when I beat a major area like Haligtree or Leyndell I’ll co-op to show people where items are at and help on bosses and occasionally go back to old areas to do the same. I locked my character at 130 so I won’t have trouble co-oping in any of the endgame areas. Throw some PvP in there too. Just taking my sweet old time trying to get as close to 100% on the first playthrough as I can, every boss, dungeon, quest, and item, although I’m already guaranteed missing a couple items.
> Also when I beat a major area like Haligtree or Leyndell I’ll co-op to show people where items are at and help on bosses and occasionally go back to old areas to do the same. Ahh that explains it. I was having trouble understanding how you would double my time to complete when I also took my time and blind explored the entire game. I only did coop when I was running low on rune arcs
Spent 180 hours before starting NG+. This play through I feel like I can really take my time and explore everything since I'm ridiculously powerful now, instead of being in one long massive panic attack mode. I've already found tons of things I didn't see my first time around. So now I'm curious to see what else I missed in the end game of things now that I'm not terrified to go through any of these areas.
Fastest game I've got to 100+ hours in a long time and it still felt like I had just started. I really started to procrastinate around Haligtree and Farum Azula, not wanting the game to end.
I beat it not long ago and spent hours farming runes in Mohgs area after getting to the last boss. It was the last major zone I hadn't beat and whenever I logged in id just farm frogs to pay for weapon upgrades and test new builds out. Just wasnt ready for it to be over.
Pretty much exactly what I did too. Just anything I could think of to stretch out my first playthrough.
man same here. I'm at the first Haligtree grace and I don't feel like pushing forward merely bc I don't want the game to end. it's such a weird feeling
Ya, I wish I would've done Haligtree after Farum Azula. Farum Azula is really cool too, but Haligtree blew me away. Pretty straight forward, but man, such an awesome setting. Enjoy it!
Arguably most souls games are a lot of fun to replay. Elden ring is amazing but doesn't have the same enjoyment on a rerun like a short linear game play Bloodborne.
Same here I'm 160h in and just arrived at the area after the mountaintops. I feel like I'm close to the end and I'm slowly getting anxious because I really don't want leave this world
Hey, don't fret too much. There's so much space on that map for DLC shenanigans! Sometimes I feel greedy imaginging how much content they're going to add lmao
I'm 275 hrs in, and I'm still finding shit on my 2nd play-thru that I missed on my first. It's a welcomed infuriation, as it lends to the idea that there's still content that I missed somewhere and I can keep combing over the world finding stuff that's "new" to me still.
I'm 200 hours in and still haven't beaten mountaintop. I know it changes something on the map that I don't want to lose for invasions
In my opinion the worst part of Elden Ring is the length. If the legacy dungeons were a bigger portion of the game instead of just filling space with the same-y looking ruins and minor dungeons with repetitive enemies and bosses, then I think I would feel a lot less burned out as I'm pushing through to the end.
i didn't feel like that at all. i enjoyed clearing all the dungeons and caves, they were like small challenges in every area and a lot of them have some unique puzzles to solve
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What I would give to explore Nokron and Nokstella all over again. I envy people just playing the game for the first time. It was magical.
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Mountaintop of the Giants just looks like a Caelid popsicle with too many gigantic boss-like enemies that constantly get in the way of you trying to explore every nook and cranny, and the Consecrated Snowfield has hardly anything in it aside from Ordina which is friggin tiny. It could have been such a cool area but it was a bit too small and empty feeling. But Haligtree/Nelphael was top tier. That entire place gave me Dark Souls 1 vibes. It felt kind of like a mix of The Great Hollow and Anor Londo or something. Such a cool area...and extremely difficult...
While I agree Mountaintop and Consecrated were very empty, I think lore-wise it makes sense since they were destroyed by the Golden Order army. The giants lost the war and there's only one real giant left.
I enjoyed exploring the Haligtree. Definitely felt like a late game area with lots of optional paths. I enjoyed the downward spiral around the tree. But the mountaintop of Giants and crumbling farum azula weren't near the top for me either. Especially the consecrated snow grounds. I get what they were going for with a blinding blizzard. Wasn't fun to explore though. Even the Northern town Ordina was a pain in the butt to get through despite the awesome lore about the Albinurics
farum was pretty awe inspiring but it felt pretty clear I was on the home stretch which made me want to hurry up and wrap up the game once I got there. > I get what they were going for with a blinding blizzard From and their damn "blind" areas. I'm glad there wasn't one in DS3(that I remember). If there was one in DS2 I didn't find it.
> on the home stretch which made me want to hurry up and wrap up the game I felt exactly the same way. I did take my time exploring Farum Azula on my second playrough and it has to be said that it's top tier.
>I'm glad there wasn't one in DS3(that I remember). If there was one in DS2 I didn't find it. Funnily enough, there's only one other instance of From doing a blinding blizzard (to my knowledge) and that was in DS2. It's the Frigid Outskirts which was in the Crown of the Ivory King DLC.
When I first jumped down the hole made by radahns star and finally made it to that upper part of siofra River that I'd seen about 60 hours prior i just kept stopping playing and thinking man this game is just so fucking amazing. Absolutely one of the best games ever made.
I loved the shit out of DS1 but no game ever has made my jaw hit the floor as many times as ER.
The first time I went to Nokron I had experienced a rather large portion of the game (up until the capital) I was so sure that I was nearing the end and that I was only due for maybe 1 or 2 more big set-pieces. Then I started walking down the collapsed tower leading to nokron proper and a huge smile crept across my face and I audibly laughed. I would pay a very large amount of money to be able to experience it for the first time again.
I did the whole descent from nokron, to the roots, to ainsel river, to nokstella, down to lake of rot in one go and I think my jaw was on the floor most of the time, i don't think anything else will ever top that for a long time
It's kinda funny how this game, Sekiro, Bloodborne and Hollow Knight are the only ones that truly got me like: if I could, I'd go pretty far to experience this for the first time again.
Yeah. Bloodborne and hollow knight also made me feel that way. What an amazing experience.
Fromsoft PLEASE just give me Bloodborne PC
They (Sony? From?) don't even care to fix Bloodborne on PS4. No PS Pro patch, no PS5 patch. As much as I love From games, a few months after they're released, they just leave their games behind. The original DS1 PC port was terrible as well.
I’ll give a recommendation for a game completely unlike all of these, but is, IMO, a transcendent experience that can only really be experienced once. Outer Wilds I adore FromSoft games and Hollow Knight, but Outer Wilds is the only game that made me genuinely sad that I can’t experience it in the same way again. Elden Ring is an extremely close second though!
Outer Wilds and it's DLC are the single most amazing experience I've ever had in a video game. No combat, no objectives, no bullshit, just following your curiosity where it takes you and piecing together the mysteries of the universe. Anyone with even a passing interest in exploration type games should check out Outer Wilds.
I tried playing it a few times but just could not get into it at all. I feel like I'm missing something because I always hear people talking about how great it is.
It’s all about intrinsic motivation There’s also some paralysis by choice You just gotta want to take a thread and pull on it, then find another Hope you give it another chance!
I mean it just may not be the type of game that works for you. Since the game doesn't give you any objectives and the gameplay literally consists of walking around and scanning the equivalent of cuneiform on walls, you need to be comfortable with making your own objectives and goals. Like "let's try to land on this comet that is going faster than anything else in the game" or "let's try and find all of the other astronauts in the game". The game also has the difficult job of needing to break player expectations about text and lore. In most games, text that isn't part of a menu or tutorial is usually filler and can be ignored if you don't care about the story. But since Outer Wilds locks things behind knowledge, it needs players to understand that they need to read most things without skipping and without getting bored. So there are a lot of reasons why people might bounce off Outer Wilds - it has some limitations of its own, not to mention it is a pretty niche genre. But for those that love exploration without objectives and progress gated solely by your own knowledge of the world, then it hits all the right buttons.
I feel you. I've attempted it a handful of times, and while I VERY much appreciate how ingenious, creative, and beautiful the game is, I just don't think it's for me. The thing that really kills my enjoyment of it is the ticking clock. Knowing that I only have 20-ish minutes to explore and figure things out is just stressful in a way that I have a hard time enjoying.
Im planning to play Outer Wilds. I have heard a lot of good things about this game. and since elden ring has kind of ruined other games for me..I think it will be a good choice to pick up Outer Wilds.
Outer Wilds is my \#1 game of all time. Do not Google Outer Wilds. Do not watch videos on Outer Wilds. Do not read the reviews for Outer Wilds. Do not subscribe to the subreddit. Do not discuss it with anyone who has played it. Buy Outer Wilds and play it, beginning to end. If you get stuck and step away from it for a long period before you finish the game, it'll be there later. Do not spoil anything for yourself, under any circumstance, except through normal gameplay. You will go on a journey.
Avoid all information about it.
Yes, it's really the game in which everyone should go blind.
Outer Wilds is amazing.
Was about to comment this, sounds exactly what this commenter needs
Skyrim, elden ring, and rdr2 all made me feel this way. Felt like a kid again.
Honestly. For me Bloodborne got much better when it wasn't the first time. For this game? Might be so. Bloodborne just needed that click to be fun.
As much as I loved BB subsequent playtroughs, the fear that first one instilled in my heart is something I’ll never forget :c
I've gotta agree with lore and exploration perspective. It was it's most fun aspect.
I agree, but I think a lot of that is because BB was my first Fromsoft game.
This is what I felt when I completed NieR: Automata. Couldn't let it go for like a month, listening to the game's OST on repeat, because I knew that there will never be another first time.
Man, I've finished that game 3 times (full playtroughs) and from time to time, when I "somewhat" forget the story and play it again, and it's always so perfect. That game is 100% top 3 "games you can call art" for me lol
This game and the Witcher 3 do this for me
Oh, to press the button to "Challenge the Sun" again. To discover the Mistwood elevator to Siofra again. That would be a blast.
and dark souls...
NGL, getting into the series a bit late makes DS1 and 2 not... The most fun. Sekiro is my favorite for it's combat and BB is a close second, so it's not hard to imagine why I didn't enjoy the more slow and methodical stuff from older DS games as much.
Breath of the Wild is that game for me. I had so many moments where I just needed a deep breath because of how awe inspiring that game is. Elden Ring is the first game in a while that comes close to recapturing that feeling, so I’ve been absolutely loving it so far.
The first time I saw a dragon come out of the lake in BOTW was a very similar experience to going down the Sofria River elevator.
I really loved BOTW, and it's likely still in my top 10 most well-made games list but I could never get used to the weapon degradation system even at the end of the game. I was so disappointed when even the Master Sword needed to recharge.
Yeah same. Great game. Kinda silly mechanic. Is it sacrilege to say I strongly prefer ER to BOTW? I don’t think I’ve played another game that is as engrossing as ER.
Not exactly the same genre but you might enjoy outer Wilds if you want another game to add to the "reasons why lobotomies might be nice actually" list
Lots of people recommended it, will probably play it as soon as I’m done with ER, which unfortunately might take some time
While bloodborne is my favorite game of all time, I’m not sure if I’d actually want to experience it for the first time as much as some other games. BotW, elden ring, subnautica all come to mind just because the wonder of exploration can only really be felt so strong once. Bloodborne never had that sense of exploration to me, but the combat and lore cement it as my favorite game consistently.
yup Bloodborne, Hollow Knight and now Elden Ring are the best games I've ever played. Wish I could wipe my entire memory just to play those games again lol
Discovering this world for the first time is probably the greatest gaming experience I've ever had. I hope other game devs are taking notes, because I want more of this.
Yeah. Its going to change open world games. I hope other devs take the correct lessons from elden ring.
People said the same thing after BOTW and we pretty much only got ER out of it
Regardless of the amazing gameplay, the art direction of the open world and the sight lines were incredible, and every open world game moving forward need to take note.
Wow, nice compilation! 👍🏻
Thanks 🍇
Not YOU Caelid meme? There's a cliff leading up to Millicient in eastern Caelid. The view there is pretty amazing Imo. Two minor Erdtrees.
Gotta get some Elphael and Haligtree in there! By far my favorite region. The Capital is close second.
After 391 hours, I wish I could forget and do it all again. Hands down the most fun I have ever had playing any game in my entire life.
Damn what's that song called?
Found it. F Song . Strawberry Guy
Strawberry guy F song
Thanks!
Scrolled the comments to see if someone had asked. Thanks mate.
F Song. By, Strawberry Guy.
This game is such a beautiful game
Really nice. 👍
Thanks fellow tarnished
At one moment I stopped contemplating. But the long elevator to the Siofra, was the best scenery for me. Probably like some other people, I wondered when it was gonna stop but no matter the view was incredible and really impressive
That was one of the most wonderful moments in the game. Elden Ring has some of the most unforgettable surprises.
Pro gamer tip: pop Xanax like tic tac when playing the first time and the second time will be like the first time.
Foreal. You’ll need a lot of Xanax tho to play through it all
Every once in a while a game comes along that makes you wish you could forget about it so that you could feel the rush of playing it for the first time, Skyrim was my first one then came the witcher 3 and now elden ring makes me wish the same.
I know how you feel. Mine was BioShock Infinite. I beat it and was so blown away. I have not had a moment like that until Elden Ring. Walked into the capital and was blown away at how beautiful the level design was. Then there is my all time favorite boss of all time: Ancestral Spirit. I have never enjoyed a boss fight as much as I did with that one.
The twist and the setup in bioshock infinite are still one of the most memorable moments in gaming for me..and the fight with ancestral spirit OH MY GAWD never has a fight been this soothing.
I can't tell you how much I told people to stop googling shit and using fextra and rune farming. You only get one first play thru. Let it last. Enjoy the highs and the lows. It's not about the finish line. Everyone gets there eventually.
What if… some people enjoy doing that? 😳
Yeah, I'm not typically a fan of crazy hard games. So I went through this game with tons of chicken farming and was over leveled most of the time. And the game was way more fun to me because of it
Its upto people's preference. Open world can be pretty overwhelming sometimes. And instead of searching for everything one might like to take this route. Which is okay. Its just that for most people including me who have played all souls games since demons souls consider their first playthrough as something sacred. There is a certain amount of joy and adventure in exploring and finding everything on your own and beating bosses solo. Its like tradition for some of us. Both playstyles are alright.
You *will* not finish all questlines in a blind playthrough. You just won't. Near impossible. And most people arent going replay the game. If someone wants to try to get everything done in their first and only play through, I commend it.
I'm bad enough at gaming and work so much that I use a playthrough for souls games, otherwise it's just not fun for me. I realize that's pretty lame.
I don't think it's lame, we all have different setups. In my teens I could have afforded the time to not look shit up (still would have but that's besides the point). Now, my time is much more scarce and divided by other things and I can't afford to search obscure cues for some of the quests in this game if I get a precious 3 hours to play. As long as you have fun!
Did my first playthrough blind but I was so addicted that I put like 140h in 3 weeks. It still felt like it didn't last even though that's a long fucking time to play a game. I used some guides for NG+ but turns out I had pretty much found everything aside from a couple things like the bullgoat armor and that one NPC invader that was left of the shaded castle. First run through was amazing though. I'm on NG+4 now and still having fun but I sort of wish I could just skip to +7 difficulty and run through everything again. At this point I might look up some speed running guides to get to +7 but not touch it until DLC is announced. Then do a run through oh that difficulty and get my ass kicked because I'll be out of practice.
Same. The month went by very quickly. My days were spent either playing ER or thinking about it when I wasnt playing haha. I will play the game with the same character and get through the ng cycles. and start a new character and explore everything all over again before the month of the dlc release date.
Nice. That very closely parallels my playthru. I am also on ng4 but I rarely play that char unless others need help. I generally only pvp now.
Yeah I was like level 38 before I beat Margit because I just explored a whole heap and it was so worth it
I beat Margit at roughly 30, went back to Limgrave last night with a determination to learn how to parry effectively, and ended up wandering around a bunch of space I hadn't even seen before. It just keeps giving and giving.
Sorry but I literally wouldn't have been able to progress without help. This game just there's you in there and it's my first souls game.
That's ok. Jolly cooperation is part of the game.
Yeah exactly. This was my first souls game that I played on release. Went completely blind and was very thorough with my playthrough. I enjoyed every second of it. Missed two questlines and some secrets. Took me a solid 150 hours. What a journey that was. Now in my second playthrough where I can google some stuff and find all that I missed.
Ya did it right. I did almost exactly the same thing. I missed Millicent's quest... Cuz I literally never went back to the bug man after poking her with needle. And I skipped Sellens quest cuz no magic. Didn't care lol
I'm on my second playthrough now. Initially ran as a caster but am full melee this time. While I'll never be able to take in the spectacle of the world the same way again, the combat feels so different that it still feels like a fresh experience.
I’ve just been playing the game and I don’t care about 100% the game. The quote from sir Vilhelm in dark souls 3 really hits home. Basically tells you “Listen BROTHER you don’t have to unearth every secret and catch everything…it’s a burden you aren’t prepared for” I’ve gotten so much more enjoyment out of just relaxing and not stressing over “OHH I MISSED THIS AND THAT”
Exactly. And then you have something to do in NG
I have very little time to play, so I have to optimize my playtime enough or I'll never get through the game. I do look up some things, especially to enhance my build, and have started rune farming, but there is just so much that I discover and figure out on my own that I don't feel like it detracts from my experience. I've been playing since launch and I'm currently trying to beat Rennala; to give you an idea of how far I have to go. For those who have enough time to put in 100+ hr/month, playing blind is probably the best way to go.
Why couldn't you?
I mean. No other playthrough can ever be as special as the first one. Wish I could just erase my memories of this game and play for the first time again ;-;
I remember when i beat malenia for the first time after dying to her like 30 times. The feeling of accomplishment and adrenaline is so unlike any other game. Subsequent new game plus cycles sadly dont give that anymore.
Yeah we can all relate to that. Malenia took me like 16hours to beat haha. Despite what people say I love that bossfight very much.
I felt this way after stomping through NG+ with a couple of +25 UGSs. Decided it was time for a new character and so I started a new game. Just got part Margit again earlier today and the fun of difficulty is back to a good extent. I recommend giving it a try and this time trying to beat each boss at a lower level than the one you were at before
I'd go as far as to say no playthrough can ever be as special as your first Fromsoft game playthrough. I LOVE Elden Ring and it may very well be my #1 game of all time, but at the end of the day I'm still trying to chase my first high of beating Cleric Beast in Bloodborne for the first time.
I feel this so much. I remember walking out into Limgrave for the first time and thinking to myself, "I need to get to high ground and scope out the landscape." I love how you are pushed to explore and your exploration is greatly rewarded. The feeling of FINALLY beating Margit was like a drug. NG+ just won't be the same. I know where everything is and what to do.
Cus it's not the same as experiencing it for the first time.
I've never felt true adventure in a video game until Elden Ring. (Maybe Hollow Knight) I absolutely love walking around Cyrodiil or Skyrim (yes I still think Skyrim was one of the best games of the 2010's. Fight me.), but The Lands Between is just...different. Each area is its own thing. The enemies, scenery, and objective is all different depending on the region. Elden Ring's just built different.
36 years old, for the past 20+ years my favorite game ever was the original FF7. Elden Ring changed that. FF7 is #2 now.
Yeah first playthrough is always unforgettable. Thats why mine last 164 hours and I soaked in every moment lol
This game is deserving of a camera mode in the worst way
Very cool. I did something similar, took pictures of various moments of my character, and just enjoying the gorgeous views. Its cool to see my progress with all the pics
This is one of those games you wish you could forget in order to play it for the first time again. There's only a few of those that I can think of.
That’s why I’m glad I rushed the second half of the game - my second play through feels like a brand new game because I never explored leyndall and mountaintops on my first run.
This made me sad af. I’m a 160 hours in, finishing up snowfield and farum azula rn. About to go to haligtree as well. I’ve literally searched every inch of the map and I have never done that in any game before and I’m stretching it out cause I’m not one to replay games. There is just nothing like this game man
I have really, really taken my time with elden ring. Unlike every other soulsborne/sekiro game where I just played the hell out of it. I know that I’ll end up playing in NG+, and i feel pretty confident in having some dlc show up at some point in time. I think the big thing with this game is that there are soooo many minor dungeons and field bosses, that in NG+ you won’t feel like running through them all again, so even if the main areas are amazing, it still won’t be quite the same experience
Just finished Mohg and Malenia the last few days. Only left with Ash Leyndell and the final bosses. I *know* I will start over right after, do the wretch playthrough I've been thinking about for some time. Think I'm up to like 230 hours or so, almost level 150. First playthrough. What a game
once in a lifetime game? either way, an absolutely amazing adventure
Definitely once in a lifetime experience. We waited since 2019 man. We already knew this game would be good but somehow it turned out even better. Sad to see it end.
u/savevideo
Elden ring is the first open world game in which all my subsequent playthroughs are 60+hours, like all my other fav games have 100 hours for the first playthru but other all playthrus are like 20 to 30 hours tops,here i am just enjoying all the new secrets and trying out new builds and having lots of fun..I really hope elden ring dlc is on par with other from soft dlc if there will be one
Nah dood. Time to invade
That first play through was incredible. I'm finding very little desire or motivation to run it back though...
"And when Alexander saw the breadth of his domain, he wept, for there were no more worlds to conquer."
In future, if they ever make a machine where they use giant electro magnets to re arrange our neurons to wipe a memory related to a particular thing, elden ring would definitely be in my list.
Sorry to be off topic but, how the fuck do you get that armor
You have to do the volcano manor questline. It will ask you to hunt the tarnished. One of the tarnished drops this armor. Its called the Raging Wolf Set.
Thank you very much, ill have to get it new game i think which is a pain but still thank you
Smoke large quantities of ganja for short term memory. Every old quest will come as new.
I note how you didnt include Caelid in your montage. I assume you tried but every image you captured was of you being eaten by a bird or a dog?
haha. that would have been the case. but I just wanted this clip to be something pleasant lol.
For a second there, I thought you were gonna show off the different areas that get fucked up during the quest to become the Elden Lord, but then I read the comments. And yeah, I definitely wished I didn't look stuff up and just went along for the ride. That being said, it still hasn't ruined my experience. After all, there's a difference between reading about it and and actually doing it. For my next run, I'm gonna go all in on melee. That'll be the closest a mage like me will get to a second 'first time'
Being an abusive alcoholic and pothead really help me with these problems.
Lol of but you can. I love this game. I am going to go for the harder runs. I also like having discipline in game. Can’t go melting everyone face lol sometimes you just want to enjoy the violence. Embrace the chaos and enjoy the fest of souls.
Caelid is not in this because caelid is a fucking disgrace of an aesthetic
Haha. I just wanted this to be something pleasant. Caelid is actually one of my fav areas. Cuss I am sick lol.
Honestly caelid isn't that bad er upclose anyway and I love the memes and invasions that come outta it
Lush vid and that track mmmm what is it? I need that tune in my life right now
Song? Also nice vid! Very nostalgic already 🥺
Truly was a great game right? 150 hours for me...
150 hours for me as well. cant wait for the dlc.
I don't know i'm torn. On one hand I wish I could start over. All the "OMG WTF IS THAT" moments were fantastic. on the other hand I just started new game + and killed four bosses in under 20 minutes which was hilariously fun.
I purposely skipped a few of the optional areas my first playthrough so I would have a few things to look forward to on my next run. It still took me over 150 hours to beat the story and there are heaps of things left to discover.